Northwest Expedition Academy essays: 'How do support dogs make a difference?'

Fourth graders at Northwest Expedition Academy spent time this spring investigating the question, "How do support dogs make a difference in people’s lives?"

Four different support dogs from the community came into the classroom so students could learn more about their specific jobs. Students spent time researching dog’s specialized senses that make them so adept for support work.

Below is the second and final round of op-ed pieces written by the students.

Murphy: Search and Rescue dog
By KADENCE TAYLOR

Did you know that dogs can hear from miles away?

Some People think Lucy’s better because she is a support and facility dog. Lucy goes to schools and courtrooms to make kids feel better. She snuggles with the kids and lets them pet her. Lucy is a great dog, but I think Murphy's better. Other people think Blue is the best because he is also a support and facility dog. Blue's job is to help students feel better at our school. Blue will let the students pet him. Blue brightens people's days! But I still think Murphy's better, and I am going to tell you why. 

My first reason is that Murphy saves lives. Murphy is a Search and Rescue dog. There are machines where it can detect someone's heartbeat, but did you know dogs can find someone way faster? Murphy was trained to find people in an earthquake or if a building fell on top of them. Murphy also finds people who got lost in the forest. Murphy works for the fire department. Murphy's handler says, “Dogs can sense someone's heartbeat faster than machines." This is important because it proves how incredible dogs' noses are! Therefore I think Murphy's job is so cool because he is a Search and Rescue dog!

My second reason is all about Murphy's senses. Did you know a dog's best sense is its nose? A dog's sense of smell is 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than a human's. Also, a dog's sense of smell can pick up things that can't even be seen. They can even smell what happened a few weeks ago! Dogs' hearing is a lot better than people. People can only hear from 20 feet away while dogs can hear from miles away. Dogs are not colorblind; they can see blue, yellow and gray colors. It's super interesting learning about dogs' senses!

For about eight months Murphy lived with his trainer. Murphy's trainer taught him all the basics. In the next eight months the trainer taught Murphy 30 commands. After special training, Murphy had to take a test to be a Search and Rescue dog. Murphy's training never stops

I hope you learned a lot in my essay, and all about Murphy's job, his senses and how he got trained. Next time you see a service dog in public, make sure you ask to pet them before you do. I hope you liked my essay!

Support dog essay
By TANNA JOHNSON 

Did you know hearing is a dog's secondary sense over taste, sight and touch, but their first is smell?

Some people think support dogs aren't important. Other people think support dogs are really important. Rocket makes the biggest difference in people's lives because he's not there to judge you, he helps first responders when they're having a bad day and he goes to meetings and lets people pet him.

According to Rocket's owner Mr. John McSwain, Rocket is there to calm you down, not judge you. This is important because if he judges you by your looks and is mean, that's not being a therapy dog. A therapy dog is trained to provide support and comfort to people. 

Rocket helps first responders and calms them down. According to Mr. John, he calms down first responders when they're having a stressful day. This is important because if first responders are stressed from a call, Rocket can calm them down. A first responder is a policeman, a firefighter, a paramedic or a nurse. Service dogs are allowed in different places depending on their job.

Rocket goes to meetings and lets people pet him if they're having a bad day. This is important because if people are having a bad day he makes them happy. According to Mr. John, Rocket uses his nose the most because there's a chemical in your body that all dogs can smell when you're upset or angry or sad. Sense of smell is a dog's most developed sense. It is also the most heavily used sense. Smell is to dogs what sight is to humans. A dog's sense of smell could be 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than humans, even though they have smaller brains. The part of the brain that controls smell is much bigger and expanded than the human one.

If you want to meet Rocket, go to the North Idaho State Fair this summer. I hope you learn more about therapy dogs. 

Lucy
By OLIVE BUTTICE

Did you know that Lucy is a snuggle dog?

Some people think that Blue is a better dog because he helps Mrs. Duncan in a crowd or public places. Blue offers education. He works at Northwest Expedition Academy. He keeps kids at NExA safe.

Other people think Rocket is the best dog because he works at the sheriff's department. Rocket’s handler can't go to some other places without Rocket. He lets first responders pet him. Rocket has a lot of energy but he still calms people down. Rocket is used as a tool.

Lucy makes the biggest difference in people's lives because she relies on her nose the most. She helps kids feel better when they're in court and she makes kids feel better when they talk to police officers. In my essay I'm going to tell you why Lucy makes the biggest difference in people’s lives.

When Lucy goes into a room, she sniffs and then she knows what people are feeling. Dogs' sense of smell is 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than our sense of smell. That means that Lucy can smell farther and stronger smells. Therefore, Lucy makes the biggest difference with her nose because she has a strong sense of smell.

Secondly, Lucy helps kids feel better when they're in court. When kids are feeling sad, Lucy lets them pet her and lies on their lap. Facility dogs that work for the court help sad and stressed kids feel better. This is important because the dog helps kids when they go through a hard time or when they are stressed. Lucy does the same as this type of dog. She makes the biggest difference in our lives because of how she helps makes the world a better place for kids.

Lucy helps kids feel better whey they talk with police officers about what they went through or what happened to them. She is right beside the kids. They feel safer talking to the police officers when she is right next to them. This is important because sometimes when dogs work in a facility they usually help people feel better or help them when they go through a hard time. 

In conclusion, in my essay I told you all about how she uses her nose the most, how she helps kids in court, and how she helps kids feel better when talking to police officers. Make sure you ask to pet a dog at work before you pet the dog.

    Kootenai County Sheriff's Office therapy dog Rocket was one of four support canines written about by NExA students in a series of essays.